


The Advantages of Communication

by AttackoftheDarkCurses, thebuildingsnotonfire



Series: The Practical Applications of Fanfiction [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Close in Age, Established Relationship, F/M, Fanfiction writing, Fluff, Just talk to each other idiots, Marriage Proposal, Sequel, Smut, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 09:32:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18363317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AttackoftheDarkCurses/pseuds/AttackoftheDarkCurses, https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebuildingsnotonfire/pseuds/thebuildingsnotonfire
Summary: When Rey and Ben each want their relationship to progress, they use questionable methods of communication to make it happen.Sequel/Epilogue to The Benefits of Research





	The Advantages of Communication

She’s pacing. It’s a silly reaction, but she’s waiting for Ben to burst into her bedroom and react to what she’s just sent him—but it’s silly, because who knows if he’ll even open up Tumblr and check his inbox? What if it takes days? What if he doesn’t figure out the meaning behind what she’s sent?

They’ve been dating for a little over six months now, but it’s almost like it’s been years, and Rey’s transitioned to writing stories that include more domestic fluff now that she has some experience with it. It’s not unusual for their readers to drop prompts in either of their inboxes. What if he assumes the message is some reader who just wants to see Kira and Kylo’s relationship progress?

She takes less than a minute to decide she’s a moron for doing it this way.

Willing herself to chill out, Rey takes a seat at her desk and, as she often does while stressed, she opens her desk drawer and removes the small box Ben gave her. After he discovered all of his notes she kept—every little scrap of anything he wrote something on in that beautiful flowy handwriting—he gifted her a wooden box for them, carved with both their initials.

She sits it on her lap and opens it up, her eyes landing on the same words she reads almost daily. Words that touch her heart—words that remind her how loved she is, written on a simple unlined white notecard.

**_Every morning I wake up next to you, I know we’re writing a happy ending._ **

Foolish. She’s  _ so _ foolish for not asking him outright. It’s not like she’s proposing, or asking him to father her children. He’s probably expecting them to move in together anyway—the lease on the house they’re all renting will end just after graduation, so they’ll need to move out in the next month or so no matter what. Maybe it won’t be a surprise that she wants them to find a place, just the two of them.

The problem is, they haven’t discussed it yet. Graduation is a massive hurdle and it’s possible Ben’s stuck in the same shock of impending real-life that she is. The graduation date is set, jobs are lined up—Ben’s lucked into a paid internship at a publishing house, and with help from his Uncle Luke, she’s taking a job at Rebel Corp, a company that’s focusing on engineering clean energy solutions. Everything’s falling into place.

Everything, except their living situation.

She was  _ so _ close to talking to him the night before, when he was curled around her, just before they fell asleep. Naturally, she chickened out and fell back on her questionable methods of communication—sending a Tumblr anon. With any luck, he’ll find it cute.

With a groan, Rey puts the box on her desk, stands, takes the two steps to her bed, and face-plants on it. “Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she mutters into the comforter. “What a fool. What an  _ utter—” _

She startles at the knock on her door and she jerks up, glancing toward the noise. Ben’s standing in her doorway, wearing a curious expression. He frowns at her. “Should I be worried?”

Right. His Tuesday afternoon lecture is cancelled this week. She cringes at being caught. 

“How long have you been standing there?”

Ben doesn’t answer, except with a hint of a smile. He walks over to her, not having changed into cozy clothes, which is his usual habit when he comes back from classes. It seems he’s come to her room, not bothering to stop off in his own first. Quietly, he takes a seat on the bed next to her, then leans over and kisses her.

She’ll never get tired of this. Not in a million years.

Thick lips slide over hers, catching her bottom lip between his. She turns, climbing into his lap while they kiss, and Ben reacts, grasping her hips to pull her closer. It’s always like this—like everything she’s always wanted, like everything she’s always thought kissing and being with someone should be. It’s  _ right. _

Ben cups her face, his jaw working slowly. Love seeps into every move he makes. Her heart throbs with it, her blood sings with it, and every other cliche she never understood until the day it clicked, thanks to him.

He bites at her lip, pulling at it before letting go. Leaning back in his arms, she smiles up at him and breathes out, “Hi.” Like this, it’s easy to forget her earlier concerns.

“Hi,” Ben grins back. “Want to explain what had you smothering yourself into the mattress?”

“Oh. That.”

He hums. “Yeah, that.”

“It’s…” She stops, and bites at the inside of her cheek. It’s clear that she needs to ask, and it’s not even a big deal. Even if she  _ does _ ask, it doesn’t need to happen right away. After all, they have over a month to move out, so… so… another day or two of not asking won’t hurt, right? “It’s nothing,” she reassures him, patting her palms against his chest.

Ben’s head tilts as he studies her. “Somehow I doubt that.”

When she doesn’t reply right away, his lips quirk up. In a split second, he flips them over, pressing her back into the bed while he splays a hand over her chest. The yelp she lets out is embarrassing, but Ben ducks his head down to trail kisses over her neck.

“If you won’t tell me, I’ll tease it out of you,” he murmurs.

Her eyes flutter shut. The way he says it is something between promising and threatening. “I—I have class, Ben.”

“In two hours. That’s plenty of time,” he replies, smiling against her skin. His mouth works down toward her collarbone, his fingers tugging at the edge of her shirt. “You’ll tell me in half that. Less. I’m betting it’ll take… ten minutes.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” she mutters.

“Sure there isn’t, sweetheart.”

Rey doesn’t get a chance to reply. He lifts her into a sitting position, pulling off her— _ his— _ sweater, tossing it to the floor. Bracing her arms behind her for support, she lifts her hips so he can take her leggings off too, but Ben only shakes his head at that.

“Those stay on. Unless you tell me the truth. We both know you have something you want to say… or something you want to  _ ask?” _

He pushes her back down onto the bed, chasing after her to lick over one of her nipples, and she gasps. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Mm, of course.” His lips form a smile against her breast, and his tongue swirls over one. It’s sucked into his mouth while Rey relaxes beneath him, moaning as he reaches down to cup her through her leggings. It’s the sweetest form of torture.

She can get off like this—mostly clothed—and he proved it at a party they were dragged to by Poe, just a couple weeks after they started officially dating. Neither of them were interested in socializing after a long week of classes, and when Ben found a closet in a quiet part of the house they were at, the two of them put it to good use, grinding against each other while they made out—both too nervous about being caught to undress.

The memory, combined with the hand cupping her and rubbing against her with  _ perfect _ pressure, turns her into a whining, desperate mess, squirming under him in minutes.

“Please—please let me take them off,” she asks. Begs. “It’ll feel better. I’ll be so wet for you, take them off me, please?”

His answer is simple and  _ evil _ . “No.”

Teeth catch at one of her nipples, pulling carefully. They’re replaced by his tongue as he swirls around the pebbled tip, lapping at her.

She resorts to begging. “Ben, please, I want more. I _ need _ more. I need you—”

“And you can have me,” he hushes. He kisses down her torso, sucking and licking on the way, and then tacks on, “As soon as you’re good. Tell me the truth and you can have whatever you want, I promise.”

It sounds as though he knows what she needs to say, but—

His palm cups and grinds against her, and she rolls her hips, clenching frustratingly around nothing. Her patience is gone. She tugs at his hair, panting, “If you aren’t in me in the next minute—”

“You’ll what?” he snorts. The cocky ass rests his chin on her belly and glances up at her. “What will you do? Beg more? Ask nicely? You know that’s not what I want from you.”

When he slides further down her and presses his face to her still-clothed cunt, she covers her mouth with her hand, muffling a moan. Whether he intends it or not, he’s working her closer and closer, but she wants— _ needs _ —more, and…

“I sent that anon,” she blurts, too overcome with need to care. “I want to move in together. Just us.”

Everything he’s doing stops in an instance, and when he readjusts, she feels the hot breath of his sigh against the skin of her lower abdomen. “Was that so hard?” he asks, sounding amused. He crawls up her and meets her eyes, smiling. “Why were you so worked up about that? You don’t need to be afraid to ask me things like that. Of course I want to move in with you.”

And just like that, all the built up tension floods out of her. Rey lets the words bounce around in her mind while she stares at Ben like a lovesick fool. She hardly notices him sit back and pull the clothes off her bottom half. His follow, and Ben presses her back to the bed, following her down so he can meet her mouth with his. Their kiss is long and slow, Ben working his soft mouth against hers in an achingly perfect way, like he knows exactly what she needs right now.

Rey wraps her legs around him, drawing him close until his cock slides against her, thick and heavy. His nose bumps and brushes against her cheek while they kiss, and when he presses into her—spreading her open and stretching her in a way she’s grown accustomed to—Rey’s fingertips tighten and squeeze at his sides.

“Are you sure?” she asks, when he kisses along her jaw. “You want to live with me?”

His breath lands at her throat. “Oh, Rey,” he whispers, “With you, I want everything.”

Rey replies so quietly she’s not sure he hears her. “You’ve got it.”

She only knows he’s heard her when Ben lifts his head and stares down at her, almost as though she’s the best thing he’s ever seen. Almost like he can’t believe she’s his. His mouth drops to hers, claiming her lips. It overwhelms her, makes her dizzy—even after months his kisses make her head spin, and Rey doubts that will ever change.

Ben takes his time, working in and out of her gently, lifting her hips to get the angle that curls her toes. They’re both breathless and covered in sweat by the time they find release, wrapped around each other and murmuring sweet promises and words of love. She rests in his arms as his fingers swirl their come around her clit, seeing if he can get more from her, and he only stops when she shakes and cries out, and insists she can’t handle more.

Rey needs to leave for class—logically, she knows this, but he’s turned her limbs to jelly, and he’s so  _ warm _ wrapped around her. His quiet laugh breaks through the silence.

“You know you could have asked me, right? As cute as it is, we shouldn’t rely on questionable communication methods when it comes to big life decisions like moving in together.”

She winces, nodding against his chest. “I know. I knew it was a mistake when I sent it. The biggest reason I did it that way was because I was nervous you would say it was too soon. I was working up the nerve to ask you properly when you came in, but then I chickened out again. An anon prompt was the coward’s way out.”

Ben nods and then hesitates. His mouth is curling into a smile. “Want to hear something funny?”

“What?”

“You forgot to put it on anon.”

Rey stares blankly as his shoulders shake with silent laughter. After a moment she groans and buries her face in the crook of his neck. He holds her close, running a hand down her back, and nuzzles into her hair, murmuring, “Not to change the subject, but did you see the tickets for opening night went on sale yesterday?”

She groans again. “I know, but they sold out before I could get any. I’m so sorry.”

It’s absurd that they started selling tickets for the midnight release of the next Galaxy Battles movie almost six months early. It was unheard of, and just her luck, they sold out in under an hour while she was in class.

“Good thing I bought us tickets, then.”

“What?” She jerks away to gape at him, her eyes wide. “Did you really?”

Ben nods, smiling broadly. “Want to be my date?  It  _ is _ the same week as our one-year anniversary.”

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate,” she laughs. Sighing contentedly, she leans against him and kisses him, slow and sweet. She murmurs against him, “We’ll need to spend the next six months writing our guesses for the next movie.”

“Oh, do we?”

It’s something she’s been considering for a while. She’s never co-written—she’s not convinced she works well enough with others to do so, but with Ben…

She smiles. “I think it’s time we try writing together. How do you feel about something very long, and canonverse?”

“Hmm.” Ben huffs a laugh and tilts her head up. “As long as it’s with you.”

* * *

**Six Months Later**

It’s miraculous, Ben thinks, that they find an apartment that’s almost equidistant from their jobs. The little one-bedroom is pricier than sharing the house with their friends was, but the location couldn’t be better, and it’s all theirs. Small, but there’s even a balcony with space for Rey’s planters—it’s exactly what they need.

Even five months into their lease, Ben’s sure they’ll renew for another year. Having space together without the risk of someone barging in is worth the slight bump in rent, and there’s something wonderful about living with just his girlfriend, rather than his girlfriend  _ and _ three friends.

He loves the apartment… though Ben knows it’s also possible they might move into something bigger, and maybe more permanent, once Rey reads the chapter he’s written.

“I can’t believe we’re posting the last chapter of this thing  _ two _ days before the movie comes out,” she sighs, slumping onto their couch. “And I can’t believe I’ve been too busy with work to write any of it myself.”

Ben watches as she undoes her buns and shakes her hair out. She glances over. “You’ve been quiet. Bummed that it’s almost over? I know I am.” Her sigh is a little despondent. “Thanks for taking care of this chapter. It’s probably for the best that you wrote it—I’m sure I’ll end up bawling just from editing.”

He hopes that’s true.

The story they’re wrapping up was their first foray into co-writing. There were bumps along the way (many of them)—Rey is obsessive about planning and not great at incorporating his ideas, and he is, in her words, “a little too Tolkien”, but they found a nice rhythm to their joint madness about ten chapters in.

This last chapter was the first one he’s written all by himself, and…

Ben thrums his fingers on his knee, which he’s managed to stop bouncing. Terrified—terrified is the only word he can think of. He’s been this way since the moment the words were on the screen, and even more so once he clicked the  _ share _ button so Rey could edit.

It’s possible she won’t even understand his intentions, but it’s like his heart is about to leap out of his chest. The feeling only intensifies when he watches her stand and grab her laptop off the desk they share.

“Oh. Are you editing  _ now?” _

His voice is thin and timid, but she seems oblivious, which is a relief. “Yeah. I assumed we would post tonight so we can enjoy our anniversary tomorrow without worrying about it. Should only take an hour anyway, and I want to rip the band-aid off.” She sighs again. “I can’t believe it’s over. What will we do with our free time?”

“I have some ideas,” he mutters under his breath.

“Hm? Anything good? I’d love to co-write again if that’s what you mean.”

It isn’t.

Ben shrugs, giving her the most non-committal answer possible. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”

Her eyes narrow at him. “What’s up with you?”

“Just nervous about the chapter.” It’s not a lie. He is  _ genuinely _ nervous about her reaction to the chapter.

Rey only laughs. “That’s ridiculous. Your writing is amazing. I doubt I’ll find many edits. I never do, you know that.”

He doesn’t respond except for a tight smile, and Rey rolls her eyes at him, turning to her computer. It will only take her a moment to open the document. She always does a read-through before editing, and it’s just over five-thousand words. At most, that’s twenty minutes, and then—and then he’ll know. Maybe. Either she’ll figure it out, or she’ll be very confused as to why he’s changed their planned ending. 

Ben’s not sure which option he’s more nervous about. When he glances over, she’s already reading. Her chin is propped up on her hands, her eyes glued to the screen. He can’t say here for this. He jumps up, bolting from the room. Their bedroom is a haven, and he starts to pace.

He can do this—he  _ wants _ to do this, so badly it hurts. But wanting it doesn’t mean it’s not terrifying, and  _ oh _ is it terrifying. He stops mid-pace and turns to his dresser, yanking open his sock drawer.

The panic in his chest dies down when he sees the little box, sitting just as it has for over a month. Ben catches his breath, picks it up, closes his eyes, and wills himself to relax. Rey loves him. Whether it’s hard to believe, it’s true. By the end of the night, no matter her answer, she’ll still love him.

Her voice is confused when she calls him from the living room. “Hey, Ben?”

Gripping the box tightly, he ducks out of the bedroom. “Yeah?”

She’s moved over to the desk, and her eyes are firmly locked onto the screen. Her head is tilted, arms crossed over her chest. “I have questions. About the ending.”

He swallows, and moves to stand behind her. “Ask away.”

“So, first, I love it. This chapter is… it’s amazing,” she breathes. “But I’m confused. Wasn’t the goal to wrap this the way we think the movie will go? I thought we agreed it might end more… ambiguous?” Rey taps her fingers on the desk and hums. “Maybe not ambiguous, but subtle? Like, maybe with them kissing and staring off into the binary sunset?” She hesitates. “Do you really think there’ll be a proposal?”

The way his heart is racing can’t be healthy. He takes a deep, calming breath, and leans down, kissing the side of her head. “There’ll be a proposal.”

She makes a doubtful noise. “I’d love to see it, but I have my doubts, because—”

The moment he reaches past her and places the little box on her laptop’s keyboard, she goes silent. Whatever reasoning she was about to explain died off as a long, surprised exhale.

“Oh,” she whispers. “ _ Oh.” _

Rey picks up the box slowly, opening it to find his Grandma Breha’s ring. Per his mother—who was _ thrilled _ he asked for it—it’s a dated style, but antique and classy. Rey’s fingers trace a feather-light path around the oval stone.

“Ben,” she breathes, “I—this is—”

He tugs her rolling desk chair away from the desk, turning her to face him. Whether it’s a gesture or just him preparing to beg her, he drops to his knees in front of her, resting his hands on her thighs as she grips the box. After a moment, her eyes fall to him. They’re wide and watery, and her bottom lip is trembling.

“What do you think?” he murmurs. He reaches up, cupping her face and wiping a tear from her eye with his thumb. “Want to write a happy ending?”

At that, Rey lets out a relieved laugh. She sniffles, and—much to his relief— _ nods. _

“Yeah,” she whispers, “I think we should.”

**Author's Note:**

> [ Attack's Twitter](https://twitter.com/AttackotDC)


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